Sales in the US Large Van segment rose by 0.8% to 87,226 in the first quarter of 2018, a slight improvement over the 1.4% sales decline in 2017. However, it should be noted that the segment is shrinking from a very high base – 2016 was the best year on record, with a little over 460,000 cars sold, and thus a little correction is probably [Read more…]

Overall sales in the commercial vans segment fell by 5.7% to 108,844 in the fourth quarter of 2017, while overall sales in 2017 fell by 2.7% to 449,849. While both the smallvans and large vans subsegments saw their sales decline, the drop was much larger for the former: 8.7% versus 1.4% for the latter. However, it has to be noted that the segment [Read more…]

The segment grows slowly thanks to a halt in the small vans sales decline

Overall sales of Commercial Vans in the US recovered a bit in the third quarter, with sales of large vans growing by 2%, and sales of small vans not changing much compared to Q3’16. This is a big improvement especially for the latter subsegment, which saw double-digit declines in the first two quarters. Still, because of this decline earlier in the year the overall segment is down 2% on where it was this time last year, with large vans up 1% and small vans down 13% YTD.[Read more…]

Once segment golden boy Ford Transit suffers double-digit sales decline while segment grows slowlyOverall sales of Commercial Vans in the US fell again in the second quarter of 2017, albeit at a slower pace than in the first quarter, resulting in a cumulative drop in sales of 3.2% YTD. However, this is mainly due to sales decline in the small commercial vans sector – sales in the large commercial vans sector have been growing so far in 2017, albeit at a leisurely 0.5% pace overall.[Read more…]

Sales of Commercial Vans in the US are down 5.4% in the first quarter of 2017 to 103,197 units, but this decline is completely due to small commercial vans, as all of the 5 players in this sub-segment lose by double digits for a 25.4% loss (to 17,882 sales), compared to stable sales for large commercial vans at 85,315 units. Keep in mind, these figures include both cargo vans and passenger vans. Small vans quickly gained popularity after new players emerged since 2013, after the Ford Transit Connect paved the way since 2009. The segment peaked at over 90,000 sales in 2015 and 2016, but that appears to have been the ceiling for its potential, at least at the current level of gas prices, which means companies prefer the added practicality of large vans or even pickup trucks over the efficiency of smaller vans. The large van segment peaked at almost 372,000 sales last year, the highest volume in 28 years, and a stable start of the year is a signal of continued strength of and confidence in the US economy. [Read more…]

Sales in the Large Commercial Vans segment rose by 15.4 percent in 2016 to 377,971 vehicles, the highest level they have been in the past decade. While 2017 is unlikely to bring any big changes to the segment lineup, sales are likely to continue rising at the clear expense of the Small Commercial Vans segment, as long as gas prices don’t rise too quickly.

Sales in the Large Commercial Vans segment rose by 15 percent in Q3 to 89,788 vehicles. This continues a good trend for the segment, whose sales have increased by 18 percent so far this year, and comes at a clear expense of the Small Commercial Vans segment, which barely grew over the same time period.

Sales of Large Commercial Vans in the US rose by 13% in Q1 2016 to 104,535 vehicles, after an impressive 28% gain in Q1. At +19% in the first half, the large vans therefore not only outsell, but also outgrow the small commercial vans which show an 8% growth rate. Low fuel prices undoubtedly have lured businesses to the larger vans, although the more efficient Euro-style vans from Ford, FCA and Mercedes-Benz continue to win market share from the old-fashioned truck-based body-on-frame vans from GM and Nissan.

Sales of Large Cargo Vans in the US rose by 28% in Q1 2016 to 86,460 vehicles, considerably faster than the 11% rate of growth recorded by the Small Cargo Van segment. While most models in the segment gained sales over this period, the standout remains the Ford Transit, which now accounts for 40% of the market.

The Full-size Cargo Van segment grew 13.5% in 2015 to 327,551 units, which is the highest volume since 2006, thanks to the confidence businesses have in the economy and to widely available credit. As we’ve discussed in our sales surprises of 2015, Euro-vans are taking over the segment that was once dominated by just 3 body-on-frame vans from two manufacturers: the Ford E-series, Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana. Mercedes-Benz was the first to see the potential and brought the Sprinter to the US market under the Freightliner and Dodge names in 2001, but Ford has caused a breakthrough when it replaced the aging E-series with the Transit in 2014. The change-over has gone smooth, as combined sales of the models were stable in 2014 and increased 36% in 2015, giving the Transit the lead of the segment by a large margin (36% share of the segment). [Read more…]